Stat Line of the Night — 12/16/2012 — Adrian Peterson

Throughout the past two months, Adrian Peterson has firmly established himself as the best running back in the NFL at the moment. And yesterday’s performance against the St. Louis Rams has also inched him that much closer to establishing himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL, ever!

Peterson entered the game with 1,600 rushing yards on the season, leaving him just 400 yards short of 2,000, and 506 short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL record for most rushing yards in a single season. That meant the 27-year-old out of Oklahoma needed 169 rushing yards in each of his last three games, and he easily surpassed that mark on Sunday, as he torched the Rams’ defense for 212 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries during the Vikings’ 36-22 victory.

With the win, the Vikings now own the second Wild Card spot in the NFC. But more importantly, Adrian Peterson now sits just 294 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s NFL single season rushing record. He needs just 147 yard in each of his last two games to accomplish the feat. When you considering the fact that he has recorded at least 100 yard rushing in each of his last eight games, and over 150 yards in six of those contests, it appears as though the odds currently sit in Peterson’s favor. Whether he succeeds remains to be seen, but for now he earns “The Stat Line of the Night” for Sunday, December 16, 2012.